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Ulrich Schumacher

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“Europe needs especially in the current times any support it can get to not only maintain but to increase its importance and strength to play globally. United Europe is an important player in this field, hence my support.

Acting as a mentor for United Europe in a European context should help both parties to understand even better the diversity of the manifold European cultures and foster a real European understanding and mindset. It’s always a pleasure to learn more about other cultures and interact with other Europeans.”

Overview

Ulrich Schumacher is an executive with 30+ years of operational and HR experience. This includes the responsibility for restructuring and transformation processes in Germany, Europe, the US and specifically Japan. He has always had a major focus on the people dimension. Ulrich has worked across a range of industries, in particular automotive OEMs and suppliers, and in the insurance industry, hence he is easily able to quickly understand the dynamics of a range of industries in their various development stages.

Approach

Ulrich Schumacher uses his comprehensive experience (corporate transformation, restructures, acquisition & integration projects) to co-create the most promising approach to his clients’ situation and issues. He specifically likes to apply a respectful and appreciative approach to the people he works with. You can easily tell the major influence that working with the Japanese has had on him. Having had to master a lot of situations where sustainable compromises had to be found, without neglecting his own position, is an asset to him now.

Career History

Ulrich began his professional career at Ford-Werke in Cologne, upon graduating from law school. After working in various parts of the HR department, including a stint in the UK, he became HR director of AutoEuropa in Portugal, a JV between Ford and Volkswagen. A few years in the US followed, as head of global HR strategy, and then he became CHRO and labour relations director at Ford-Werke in Cologne in 2002. From 2004 to 2009, he worked at Allianz, in two ExCo roles in their German business, first looking after operations, then as the Germany CHRO, during a period of major organisational change at Allianz. In 2009 he returned to the automotive industry, first as VP HR Europe for Magna, specifically as the leader of the project to take over Opel. From 2011 to 2013 he was the VP HR Europe of Toyota Boshoku, with a particular responsibility to globalise HR activities. In 2013 he joined Adam Opel AG as an ExCo member (CHRO and labour relations director) with a brief to support the restructure of the European activities of GM. After PSA took over Opel in 2018, he left the corporate world and started to work in a portfolio career.

In parallel he has held, throughout the years, a variety of roles in employment and business associations, and he was the deputy Chairman of a PPP joint venture in Bochum/Germany, with the aim to re-purpose the former Opel plant for different future-oriented activities.

Personal

Ulrich has been married for 35 years with two grown-up children. He has a keen interest in history and politics, and his interest in other cultures is satisfied by a significant amount of travel. Throughout his career, he has participated in a range of leadership development programs and still draws a lot from those experiences.